Chapter 53: Finally Unlocking The Shop

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Finally Unlocking The Shop Shelia and Ophelia decided to take an afternoon stroll while Isabella stayed behind, settling onto a spare log. She watched them disappear into the distance, the midday heat making the air thick and heavy. She sighed. Bored. Then, as if struck by lightning, she suddenly remembered something—her system! "Bubu, you’ve been real silent. What’s going on?" she called out mentally. A second later, a familiar voice echoed in her mind, dripping with attitude. [Well, you’ve been so busy ignoring me. Every time I send you notifications for upgrades or points, you just dismiss them. Not even a flinch. No reaction. Nothing. It’s honestly offensive.] Isabella nearly burst out laughing. Her system was really something else. "When did you get this sassy?" [Actually, we copy the behavior of our hosts. The more you act like that, the more I—well, you know.] She blinked. "Wait, what?" [You heard me.] Isabella stared blankly into space. So... was this thing learning from her? Was that why it had become so sarcastic? That was terrifying. Shaking it off, she decided to focus on what mattered. "Fine, whatever. How many points do I have now?" [520.] Isabella almost choked. "Five hundred and twenty points, and you told me NOTHING?!" [Oh, NOW you care? You’ve gained enough points. Your stats have changed. You’ve gained abilities. But did you check? Nope. Did you ask? Nope. Do you even glance at my notifications? Nope. I might as well not exist.] Isabella groaned. "Alright, alright. I get it. You’re feeling neglected. I’m checking my stats now, okay?" A translucent blue panel appeared before her eyes. --- [STATUS] Name: Isabella Devereaux Race: Human Age: 21 Power Rank: F- Cultivation Level: None Main Stats: Survival Rate: 17/100 Health: 8/100 Stamina: 5/300 Strength: 3/1000 Agility: 14/500 Combat: 2/1000 Defense: 1/100 Charm: 100/1000 Additional Attributes: Intelligence: 76/100 Survival Instinct: 9/100 --- At first, she nodded in satisfaction. The numbers were rising, even if slowly. But then her eyes landed on Charm. 100/1000. She froze. "What. The. Hell?!" she nearly screamed. Before, it had been 100/100, meaning she’d maxed it out. But now... the limit had skyrocketed to 1000?! "What is this nonsense?" she demanded. [Oh, that? Yeah. Since your charm stat was originally at its limit, things were easy for you. You got away with a lot. But now that you’re getting the hang of this world, I figured... why not make things harder? Plus you’ll get getting acquainted with a lot of people now. You can’t always have things go your way.] "EXCUSE ME?!" [You’re welcome.] Isabella gaped at the panel, feeling personally attacked. No wonder people had been acting slightly different around her lately! The system nerfed her charm! She grumbled, muttering complaints under her breath, but the system ignored her completely. Then, after a brief pause, its voice returned— [Would you like to open the shop?] "Yes," Isabella said, bracing herself. As she stared at her points amount on the screen. The moment she confirmed, a sharp ding echoed in her mind, followed by the worst sight imaginable—her points dropping from 520 to 20. Her chest ached. Physically. She clutched her heart dramatically. "That hurt," she muttered. But her pain was soon forgotten when a massive shop interface unfolded before her eyes. Her jaw nearly hit the ground. [SHOP UNLOCKED] Subsections Available: 1. Skincare & Beauty – Basic self-care items. 2. Basic Weapons – Low-tier weapons available for purchase. 3. Cultivation Boosters – (Locked until cultivation begins.) 4. Survival Tools – Essential items for basic survival. 5. Cooking Ingredients – Basic resources for food preparation. 6. Household & Cleaning – Sanitation products and essentials. And the items... oh, the items. She clicked on Skincare & Beauty first, because why not? Instantly, an overwhelming list of products flooded her vision. Herbal Face Cleanser – 50 pts Hydrating Rosewater Mist – 75 pts Smoothing Aloe Vera Gel – 100 pts Glow-Boosting Face Serum – 150 pts Exfoliating Sugar Scrub – 80 pts Anti-Aging Elixir (Slows Skin Aging) – 250 pts Sunscreen Cream (Blocks Magical & Sun Rays) – 200 pts Deep Hydration Face Mask – 120 pts Detoxifying Charcoal Mask – 90 pts Soothing Cucumber Eye Patches – 70 pts ...And that was just ONE section. There were thousands of things in this shop. Thousands. Her eyes sparkled. Gosh! But then, reality hit her. All these amazing products... and she was broke. Her excitement quickly turned into a headache. She frowned, calling out to her system, "Bubu." [Yes?] "I won’t be able to buy all this stuff every time. I need to distribute things to the village, and I can’t afford to keep spending points like this. What am I supposed to do?" [Simple. You can purchase an item once, and when you do, you’ll be given an option to purchase a detailed manual on how to recreate it yourself.] Isabella perked up. "Wait... that actually sounds useful." Then, a suspicious thought hit her. "How much per manual?" [250 points.] Silence. Then— "WHAT?!" Isabella felt her soul leave her body. "250 POINTS?! FOR A MANUAL?!" she shrieked. [Yes.] "That’s robbery!" [You only think that because you don’t work hard enough to earn more points.] "...Excuse me?" [If you trained and completed more tasks, you’d get points faster. So really, this is your fault.] Isabella narrowed her eyes. "I do not act like this. There is no way you copied my behavior. You’re way more annoying." [That sounds exactly like something you’d say.] She opened her mouth. Closed it. Then groaned in frustration. "Fine. There must be another way." [There is.] Her eyes brightened. "Okay! Tell me." [For each item you buy, you’ll be given an option to recreate it.] "Right," Isabella said, waiting. But then the system kept talking. [If it’s a small-level item, 10 pieces will cost you 5000 points.] "...Huh?" [10 pieces = 5000 points.] A vein popped on Isabella’s forehead. 5000 POINTS. FOR JUST TEN PIECES?! She took a deep breath. Counted to three. Then forced a calm, eerily emotionless tone. "...Bubu." [Yes?] "Are you poor?" [No.] "Are you struggling? Do you... need these points to survive?" [No.] "...Are you using the points for anything at all?" [No.] Silence. Then— "IF YOU’RE NOT USING THEM FOR ANYTHING, WHY DO YOU NEED SO MANY POINTS FOR NOTHING?!" The system responded, completely unfazed. [Because you’re lazy. You need to work for it.] Isabella screamed into her hands. After sometime of wailing, she realized she couldn’t win. So, with defeat in her heart, she decided to scroll through the other items. Of course, she couldn’t look at everything at once, but at the very least... She switched over to the Cooking section.